Have a “Mari”time at the Table with Raft Style Place Cards (DIY)

I think it’s the end of the holidays mixed with the polar temperatures that have put me in the mood for warmer days. Perhaps, this cute raft style place card is my way of escaping into the summer months while I dream of sandy beaches and warm waters.

In this DIY, I’ll show you how to add a little nautical flare to your table settings with a simple cork raft. It’s a quick idea to put together for a small gathering, and if you have a lot of extra corks laying around like I do, this will put them to work for you. Let’s get started…

First, here is what you will need to create your raft style place cards…

3 corks

Razor knife

1 wooden skewer

2 pieces of six inch 24 ply cotton yarn string

6 inch by 3/4 inch oak tag with name

Once you have collected all of your materials, you’ll want to line up the three corks side by side. When you have them aligned them, tie the corks together using the cotton yarn. Notice in the picture you’ll tie both edge of the cork raft together. After the corks are tied, take your razor cutter and create a deep crisscross incision in the middle of the center cork. You can then deepen and round out the hole using the wooden skewer.

Next, we’ll have to prep our sail. Once again you’ll need your razor cutter. You’ll also need your 6 inch oak tag to create the sail. Feel free to print out the name onto the oak tag or if you wish to use your penmanship simply write your guests’ names vertically down the sail.

To actually create the sail effect for your raft place cards, create crisscross incisions on the top and bottom of the oak tag sail.

Next, you’ll want to slide the wooden skewer through both incisions. See above.

We are now ready to put it all together! Take the sail and insert the sharp end of the wooden skewer into the rounded incision you created in the cork. Finally to polish off the look of the raft, you’ll want to snip off the extra cotton yarn ends you maybe left with.

So this is the fun part. Here’s where you get to be creative. I see a table like an artist sees a blank canvas; you can transform it into art. Above, I paired my raft place card with traditional white plates and napkin. I folded the napkin accordion style and then fanned out the tops of the accordion to create a wave-like effect.

Another way to display these fun raft place cards is by adding the raft inside a soup bowl if your menu and table setting permits.

I decided to add glass marbles and beads into the base of my bowl to mimic the look of water.

Again, you can get as creative as you would like with these place cards. They are not intended to be thematic, but really they are a clever touch to any table setting.